Ordinarily, the home town of an incoming vice-president of the United States ought to be awash with pride, vigor and celebration one month out from their big day.
But across Middletown, JD Vance’s home town in south-west Ohio, you would hardly know.
Its streets and shop fronts are full of festive cheer; sign after sign points drivers in the direction of the city’s famed Christmas lights display.
There’s little indication that, in a matter of weeks, this town’s most famous son will become second in line to the presidency of the most powerful nation on the planet.
Such is the apparent indifference in Middletown, that Vance’s mother, Beverly Aikins, felt it necessary to attend and speak at a recent city council meeting to plead for her son to be better recognized.
“I still live here, and his sister still lives in Middletown. [JD has] got two nieces who live here and I just think it would be nice if we could acknowledge that this is his home town and put up some signs,” she said.
The City of Middletown waited a full month before publicly acknowledging Vance and Trump’s election success on its Facebook page. One council member who supports Vance called that “unacceptable”.
City council members declined to respond to Vance’s mother’s request at that time, though the city has since said it was discussing plans to mark Vance’s new position that include erecting street signs.
Other Middletown residents say reasons for the lukewarm response to what should be one of the city’s proudest achievements are not difficult to figure out.
“When I look around and want to see what this quote-unquote financial heavy hitter has done for this community, I’m still looking,” says Dr Celeste Didlick-Davis, the head of the Middletown branch of the NAACP.
“Other individuals, a variety of people who have done substantial things, have supported growth and transformation [in Middletown]. To know what [Vance] has done for this community, I’d have to really, really research and I shouldn’t have to really, really research.
“You’ve had two years as a senator – have we had one visit that benefits someone?”
Vance first shot to fame as the author of the 2016 book Hillbilly Elegy, in which he portrayed his Appalachia-rooted childhood, life with a mother struggling with addiction in Middletown and a grandmother who played a major role raising him and his sister.
In the book, he delved into life in the blue-collar city of about 50,000 people, which has struggled with the fallout of manufacturing offshoring, the Great Recession and the opioid epidemic. Vance has since formulated a political career off the back of claiming to come from a working-class family and city, while banking on support from billionaire conservatives to help him win elections.
Trump picked Vance as his running mate in July, despite the Ohio native being seen as a relative political novice and being unknown for being involved in any aspect of public life in his home town.
Locals say that may explain why in Middletown 38% of voters chose candidates other than the Trump-Vance ticket in last month’s election. Voter turnout across many Middletown precincts ran in the 40-50% range – as much as 20 points below the national voting turnout rate.
“He comes back when he needs to make a political speech,” said Scotty Robertson, a member of the local Democratic party.
“If someone would take me to one thing that JD Vance has made better in Middletown, I’d retract everything I’ve said about him.”
Vance’s rhetoric and political positions, which includes calling for the mass deportations of immigrants, has turned many in the largely blue-collar town off.
“I’m hearing from people who are concerned that their grandmom is going to get deported. That is really sending chills up people’s spines,” said Adriane Scherrer, a business owner who helps people, including immigrants, launch and run non-profit organizations.
“There is no sign on the part of [Trump or Vance] that they understand the importance of immigration in our country. What worries people the most is that there’s no recognition of the damage that deportations would do.”
Some residents say that people in the local the LGBTQ+ community have reached out to family overseas to talk about leaving the US if the environment under the incoming administration worsens.
However, others believe Vance and Trump will do great things for this Ohio city.
“Politically he’s the most famous person to come out of Middletown. I always feel like we could do more,” said Savannah Woolum, a Vance and Trump voter who manages a bar in Middletown. “It’s opening a lot of eyes to realizing that you can come from a small town like he did, and make it as far as he has.”
She said it gave people here hope, but realized that naming a drink or dish after the vice-president-elect could be problematic.
“Maybe the city [officials] are a little scared of embracing his achievements because of the people that didn’t vote for him.”
Middletown high school’s marching band and cheerleaders have been invited to Washington DC for next month’s inauguration parade, with the city of Middletown contributing $10,000 to covering that expense.
Middletown’s mayor, Elizabeth Slamka, said that adding signage around the city acknowledging Vance’s achievement was in the works.
But others are concerned that if Trump and Vance follow through on their promises of cutting education funding and vaccination programs, it could be devastating for many Middletown residents.
“I just see my community being overlooked and underserved,” says Didlick-Davis.
